Tire.



PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908.

w. PORTER.

TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26, 1907.

WILLIAM PORTER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

BEST AVAILABLE COPY Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

. Application filed June 26, 1907. Serial No. 380,946.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM PORTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Tire, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention'relates to a vehicle tire adapted to be constructed as aneumatic, cushion or solid tire and prefera 1 formed of leather, and themain objects of t e invention areto provide a tire of the characterdescribed which is of simple and economical construction and durable inuse. p

. Another object of the invention'is to revi'de a tire wherein the endof the grain o the material constitutes the wearing surface, wherebythedurability of the tire and its tractive qualities are greatlyincreased.

Another object is to construct the tire of a large number of small iecesof material, thereby making it possible for each iece to be of perfectquality, so that the tire as a whole will have no Weak places. This alsoresults in considerable economy in construction by reason of it beingpossible to utilize small pieces of leather unavailable for otherpurposes,but each in perfect condition.

Other objects and advantages will be brought out'in the following descrition.

The accompanying drawings .i lustrate the invention, and referringthereto :'Figure 1 is a side elevation of a segmental portion of a tireconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fi 2 is a cross section.

Fig. 3 is a view simiar to Fig. 1, on a reduced scale, showing amodified form of construction 'adaptedfor a' tire having a comparativelysmall diameter.

Briefly, the invention comprises a ring composed of a plurality ofradially arranged pieces or plates of leatheror other suitable material,the outer edges of the'pieces form ing the outer wearing surface ortread of the tire, with suitable means for binding or holding thepieces'in circular arrangement.

' In Fig. 1, l'designates the pieces or plates com osed of leather, orother suitable materia Each piece is preferably slightly taered or wedgeshaped so'that its inner edge is narrower than its outer edge, and when.the

' pieces are arranged side by side the faces of the plates will standradial to the center of the circle formed by the tire. Each iece 1 has acontour of an suitable shape, or example, as shown in ig. 2, in-whichthe tread portion. is somewhat flattened, and the 1nner edges are formedwith wings 2 and 3. in a solid tire each piece 1 would be made solid,but in a pneumatic tire would be cut out at the center, as shown in Fig.2, to receive the inner air tube 4. The wing portions 2 and 3 are cutapart to form a wedge-shaped opening, as shown, with the cut extendingdiagonally across a line through the center of the tire, orsubstantially midway between the wings, whereby comparatively stiff endsare secured and slender strips or flaps are avoided. The lower edges ofthe wings are straight and flat to conform to the rim 5, and arefastened to the rim 5 in any suitable manner-as, for example, by'thedetachable lockin rings 6, as shown. Inside of the annular hole formedin the rin of ieces is a lining 7, formed preferably 0 leat er, whichlies between the pieces 1 and the air tube 4 and provides a. smoothchannel for the air tube, enabling it to be easily inserted orwithdrawn, and prevents pinching or abrasion of the airtu e against thepieces.

The pieces 1 may be punched out by means of a die and may thu be quicklyand economicallyformed, as for this purpose large perfect pieces ofleather are not required. Moreover it is possible to utilize largepieces of leather which might have flaws making them unsuitable for usein other forms of tires and yet provide perfect pieces for this formof'tire. Again, small pieces of leather which are useless for any otherpurpose may be employed to best advantage in this form of tire. Thisresults in great economy of leather, and as the ieces may be rapidly andrangement, a pair of wires 9 may be run through the pieces near thetread portions thereof and a similar pair of wire wings 10 may be runthrough'the wings 2 and 3, the rings 10 being of a correspondingly lessdiameter than rings 9. In order to hold the lining 7 in place it may bestitched at intervals to the pieces 1, as at 11, 12, 12% and 14.

elasticity and should any part of it become damaged the tire can berepaired by removing the damaged pieces and inserting new pieces inplace thereof, and the tire thus repaired not only has the a pearance ithad efore becoming damaged ut is restored to it had before be a rubbertire the exactly the same condition ing damaged, whereas in damaged parthas to be vulcanized, often making an unsightly and objectionableprotuberance, and the repairing of an ordinary leather tire -is quitedifficult and unsatisfactory as pieces have to be cemented in place andthe tire is not in as perfect condition as before.

The tread ortion of this form of tire is made relative y thick toprevent puncture and prolong the wear. The elastic qualities of the tireare equal to any other tire, the bowed portions which are intermediatethe thick tread and wings 2 and 3 springing and bulging outward as thetire is compressed and retracting when relieved, the air tube producingthe pneumatic sustaining and cushioning qualities.

When the tire has a relatively small diameter, extra wedge-shaped pieces15 may be riveted at intervals to pieces 1 to avoid having to make theinner edges of pieces 1 very thin, to secure the sharp degree of curverequired, as shown in Fig. 3.

What I claim is A tire comprising a hollow ring formed from thin,perforated, wedge shaped pieces of material arranged radially and closetogether, each piece being out out in the center and having its inneredge flat and provided with wings, the ortion between said wings beingseparated by a wedge shaped opening extending from the central openingto the flat edge on a diagonal line extending across a line through thecenter of said piece substantially midway between said wings, a liningaround within the tire having thin edges, one of which extends into thewedge shaped recesses of said pieces of material and the other extendsacross the joint between the other edge of the lining and the inner endof the severed wing portion, wire rings in the perforations of saidpieces to bind them together, and an inflatable tube within the tire.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 20th day of June 1907.

WILLIAM PORTER.

In presence of I GEORGE T. HACKLEY, FRANK L. A. GRAHAM.

